The overriding emphasis in my career has been synthesizing the epidemiologic, geographic, and clinical understanding of health and disease. Health and disease cannot be easily separated into individual disciplines, and so doing may introduce bias into the overall understanding. My current position, spanning three different schools at UW (Public Health, Arts and Sciences, and Medicine) is ideal for this. Similarlly, my joint position in Epidemiology and Geography facilitates this. In addition, I have adjunct appointments in 2 clinical departments: Internal Medicine (Div. of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) and Family Medicine, as well as 2 additional department in the School of Public Health: Health Services and Global Health. Several leadership positions in the School of Public Health have further facilitated insights into an integrative understanding.

Specific interests include: 1) diarrheal diseases esp. in sub-Saharan Africa 2) tuberculosis (TB), especially in densely settled slum areas; 3) vectorborne diseases, including malaria, dengue, and Zika 4) Emerging infectious diseases--previously unrecognized or genuine de novo diseases, such as Ebola, HIV, Zika, and the emergence of new forms of anticmicrobial ("antibiotic") resistant infectons. I am particularly interested in understanding the underlying epidemiologic, social, demographic, and political factors underlying disease emergence. Recent attention has been devoted to the epidemiology and geography of pain--especially chronic pain--and the conditions that underlie pain, such as low back pain, postherpetic neuralgia, and injury.

I am also interested in health services and the provision of health care. Recent work includes organ transplantation, esp. inequities in access to organs; access to pain treatment and pain medications; evolution of hospital systems, and consolidation; and, throughout my career, rural health and the urban-suburban-rural inequities in access to care.

Member, chair, of numerous NIH, Institute of Med, National Acad of Sciences, other natl commissions. Approx 30: Association of American Geographers; American College of Epidemiology (elected); Society for Epidemiologic Research; International Society for Environmental Epidemiology; Infectious Disease Society of America; American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; American Pain Society; International Association for the Study of Pain; American Association for the Advancement of Science.